Director, Portfolio Management Lead

About the role

The Portfolio Management Lead plays a crucial bridging role between the Portfolio Analytics team and Markel's U.S. Wholesale & Specialty business units. Reporting to Regional Presidents, this individual will drive strategic portfolio management at the regional and product levels, enhancing underwriting capabilities through analytics.

Responsibilities

• Drive the strategic implementation of active portfolio management at the Regional & Product level across Markel US Wholesale & Specialty.
• Make appropriate recommendations and enhancements to ensure relevant stakeholders are equipped to actively manage their portfolios.
• Bring the underwriting viewpoint via an analytical lens to conversations with actuarial and claims partners.
• Define and actively monitor key performance drivers with appropriate segmentation to support underwriting and drive remedial actions where necessary.
• Identify, scope, and evaluate the ROI of high-impact analytical models and solutions; partner with the team to build and prioritize an analytics project pipeline.
• Deliver tools and insights to optimize portfolio performance and enable smarter underwriting decisions.
• Support improvements in the sophistication and adoption of technical pricing models and portfolio management tools with the aim of improving risk selection and reducing loss ratios.
• Collaborate with actuarial to ensure underwriting actions are quantified, understood, and allowed for in their reserving and pricing work.
• Support quarterly business planning with performance monitoring and alignment to plan; provide insights to steer portfolio strategy.
• Champion data science, automation, and data-driven decision-making; promote adoption of tools and a data-centric culture.
• Lead training and enablement initiatives for underwriters and colleagues, in partnership with Training & Development.
• Collaborate across regions, sharing knowledge and best practices with the International Portfolio Analytics team.

Requirements

• Advanced ability to manipulate and analyze large, complex datasets.
• Strong commercial acumen and understanding of Markel’s strategy.
• Strong understanding of actuarial principles.
• Original thinking and creative problem-solving skills to any given situation.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with underwriters to enhance decision making through analytics.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of galvanizing support from a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent understanding of insurance data, particularly with regards to Commercial and Specialty insurance in the US and Bermuda markets.
• The ability to stay ahead of external trends and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• A disciplined, energetic work ethic with a focus on high-impact priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science, Statistics, Data Science, Economics, Mathematics, Information Systems, Risk Management or related field.
• Advanced degree preferred.
• Experience: 8–15+ years in analytics, pricing, underwriting, or portfolio management within US Commercial/Specialty lines; leadership or multi-region experience valued.
• Pricing actuarial experience at a Commercial or Specialty Insurer is highly desirable.
• Ideal candidate would also have experience working within a business unit or an underwriting function.
• Certifications (nice-to-have): ACAS/FCAS, CPCU, ASA; PMP/PMI-ACP a plus.